Long trip coming.

[Firea100]

Well I've secured a deal with a fellow in Boise Idaho for an even swap trade for my 2005 Dodge Rumble Bee pick up truck for a 2000 Valkyrie Interstate with California Sidecar Trike. My truck has 150K miles, no rust or accidents. The Valk has 44669 miles and by the pics I've seen seems to be in pretty fair shape. I've done a TON of buying over time from Craigslist and eBay. I can say happily that I've never been burnt by the seller. I don't want comments, necessarily, about the value of the trade. What I'm concerned about is the 2000 mile trip home in the saddle solo.

The current owner says we can go over anything that I want to ensure it's in tip top shape to make the trip. The fellow is a "chapter leader" in the Christian Motorcycle Association in Idaho. Seems like a straight shooter. I get feelings about things like this. I'm comfortable with it. I'm going to take my trailer that I pull behind my standard in the back of the truck so I can come home with more stuff (tools, warmer clothes, lighter clothes and anything else I think I might need) My longest ride was from Detroit to Ashville with the guys from the Rogue Riders here in the Detroit area to Inzane 14 two years ago.

I intend to take I-80, basically, across from Indiana. I guess I'll open it up to comments about the ride home. Any constructive comments are welcome. I plan on leaving the Detroit area on Sunday 10-18 and want to arrive back in Chicago sometime on Friday 10-23 for the weekend with family there. My wife, daughter and grandson will meet me there by cage. Then Sunday, I'll (we) will finish the trip back home to Detroit. Questions, comments?
Thanks,
Larry in East China Mi.

[Gorilla]

Larry sounds like you got it under control. As far as the ride back 400 to 500 miles a day is doable. The only thing to be concerned about I would think is your fuel plan. I would suggest setting up what your mileage will be for the first couple of fill ups. Be conservative and fill up early until you can be sure of the MPG. Also verify with the seller what size the tank is 5 or 6 gallons. I expect you will be stopping for gas at 150 miles or less. That means 3 to 4 stops a day. Stay hydrated and keep your energy up. If you feel tired STOP and rest arrive safe.

[Bikerbozo]

Sounds like a fun ride. You might want your chase vehicle to carry an extra gallon of gas for you. Just in case.
FYI. I think you made a good deal.
Try not to pay attention to dashboard things you are not as familiar with and watch the road.

[Firea100]

Regarding the chase vehicle, I don't have one. I'm driving my truck to trade and riding the Valkyrie home. I'm an early riser, so I'll be getting on the road at sunrise BUT won't drive at night. I'm going to take a 1 gallon gas can with me, just in case. I have one of those tire plug guns that will be coming also. A Mopar air compressor that replaces some spare tires in some of their smaller cars. It has two air lines one for just air and one for injecting tire "Slime" that can seal leaks in tires. I also have a Porsche scissor jack. The reason that I mention that is it's aluminum. Weighs about a pound and a half! I'll be carrying a spare hub assembly for the trailer.

[Ozarkryder]

You may want to re-think the part about hitting the road at sunrise and have a nice leisurely breakfast and take some time getting ready for the day. As you are going west to east, you'll be riding into the sun. Not good for safety. I like the early start, too, but when it is into the sun I like to wait until the sun is shaded by my helmet visor without having to unnaturally tip my head down.

And a few things you might consider as "must have' for your trip:

[Firea100]

Definitely agree about the sun rising in the East. Had not thought about that! Guess that's why I'm glad I posted on the board, to get thoughts and ideas from our group of riders!
THANK YOU!!
Naturally, I'll have a cell phone, cash and cards. I was considering some sort of personal protection, but alas, I don't own one and would never borrow one.

[chris vickers]

A list of potential Motorcycle repair shops along your ride might not hurt just in case. Tools is an obvious, maybe a can a fix a flat. Extra Battery, You think Im joking but recently had to get a buddy to drive 40 miles to get me one, If the battery or alternator go out you will wish you had a extra battery

Safe Travels

Oh yeah, One of those chargeable units that you can charge your phone from

[Marc H]

you probably already did this but make sure the trike has a trailer hitch.It would definitely be a major surprise to get there and find out it didn't.

[Gorilla]

Just a thought if you have Roadside Assistance (you should get it) make sure it will cover your trike. Also make sure you get the best coverage because you might be in an area where 35 miles just will not hack it. The knowledge of the good coverage is worth the peace of mind.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Another thing to consider about an early start ... here in Grand Junction, Co., we've had mornings (7am) at 46 degrees. An hour later will be warmer, say 60 degrees.

Also, going I70, the Rockies could have snow this time of year, if they do, probably won't stay long, but probably won't be fun for a new triker. You can check Cdot.com (Colorado) or Udot.com (Utah), for road conditions, including cameras of the conditions at the passes. A smart phone, tablet or laptop might be a good take with ya. Even without snow, at 10k+ feet it will be a tad nippy.

If your going I80, might be cooler still, Dress in layers, or if you have electrics, that would be better. Just some thoughts.

Another thought to expand on Gorillas comments ... we got stretches out here that are 150 miles from civilization to civilization ... no joke .. I'm not talking just gas ... I'm taking lots of nothing for 150 miles. The main routes, I80 and I70 are safer in that regard as there is more towns on them ... get a good map and plot your course. As your doing the out trip in your truck, you can backtrack and know what to expect. Hope at least some of this helps.

[Firea100]

Mark H. Yes I have a new battery ready to go with me. I have Progressive Insurance, the roadside assistance covers the trike. Trike has a hitch, talked at length about different trailers with previous owner. My plan is to keep on I-80 most all of the trip. I'm bringing my snowmobile suit, rain gear, flannel lined jeans, regular jeans, long and short sleeved tee shirts, sweat shirts, all kinds of different gloves and different thicknesses of socks.

[Firea100]

Well I left out of the Greater Detroit area about 1500 hrs. It's mid-night Detroit time and I'm sitting at the Iowa-80 truckstop having breakfast! I've put on almost 450 miles so far today. I think I'll find a quiet parking space and try to get a little shut eye. Prices on fuel is about $2.18.9 a gallon. Not bad. That's what I was able to get it for in Detroit. I've averaged 16.7 MPG on this tank. A lot of city expressway type driving. Once I get out on the open roads, I expect about 17MPG or so. Lots of LEO's on these roads. I've resigned to the fact that I'm not going to try to beat any land speed records on this trip! Definitely don't want any tickets. I'm able to drive at night in the cage (pick-up) but will not do any night driving on the trike on the way home. Well my breakfast is here so I'll stop typing and start eating! Next installment tomorrow!
Larry from East China Mi.

[wiredgeorge]

When you come back on the trike, keep in mind that 25-30 mpg would be expected. Trikes tend to use a lot more gas than a 2 wheeler. When I drove 1500 miles from E. Tn. last weekend that is what I got on my GL1800 conversion. If you see a small bottle of windex, that would be a good idea if there are still bugs out where you are. The windshield on my Goldwing was all the way up and stuck that way. I had to look through it as a result and the evening sun made it miserable into the setting sun. Hopefully you have a power out on the new trike as I didn't and it made it very necessary to keep track of charging in the motel at night.

As far as trading a cage with high miles for a trike... my opinion is that you stole the trike bwhahaha The Valk seems to be one of the finest conversion bases out there! Good luck and enjoy the ride.

[Firea100]

I was hoping to get into Utah this evening but I only made it to Rawlins Wyoming. As soon as it got dark i couldn't keep driving. So I've got about 8 hrs left to Boise. I can do that early and be there in plenty of time to do paperwork and get back on the road. I'm sure I'll get out of town and immediatly get a room and start with a full head of steam in the morning.
I'm going to carry an extra 5 gallons of gas. Coming through the mountains showed me that the gas stations are few and far between in that area. If you have a car or truck you have a longer range than with the trike. So I'll post tomorrow when I actually lay my eyes on the trike.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Be safe .. and warm ... if you can, maybe post a pic of the new to you trike.

[Firea100]

Well I made it safely into Boise this afternoon. The previous owners, Fritz and his wife Marne are really super nice folks. You don't often meet folks this nice. The trike is as described, with some minor scratches and chips to be expected from 40K miles and 15 years of age. Chrome still very shiny and paint is still bright and clean. The trike drives fine, although there is a low speed front wheel wobble. It isn't constant but there at different times. We looked at the triple tree bearings and the front axle bearings, all seemed to be ok. I think it may need a fork brace.

Haven't driven it at high speed yet, but we'll see how that goes tomorrow, I've just got a room a few minutes ago. We were having trouble with the lighting on the trailer, more specifically the wiring on the bike with regards to the pigtail for the trailer connection. We could get running and turn signals but could not get the brake lights to work. We've set up a pair of magnetic lights to work temporarily until get home. Other than that everything seems to work well. I'll report back tomorrow after I have a few miles under my belt on it.
Larry

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Nice looking trike ... get used to it before you try to rack up too may miles.

[Marc H]

Nice trike.Enjoy the ride home.

[wiredgeorge]

Most trikes want to bounce around a bit because of the increased rake at very bumpy slow speeds. You should be OK. A fork brace would help that...

[kybigmac]

Great looking trike, you done good! My GW trike had that wobble at around 35 mph, I put a fork brace on and stopped about 90% of it. Have a safe trip home.